Milk soaps with white spots weeping

[Stryda71]

This is my first post after reading many for a year or so now - I am an intermediate soaper (cp) and have ventured into my first milk soaps after reading Anne Watson's Book "Milk Soaps" - okay but by no means thorough (again like her other book). I have scoured Susan Millers book and website to no real avail but I think what I have is undissolved lye?.

Having made 2 batches of goats milk, 2 batches of "whipping" cream and 1 batch of coconut cream soap all using frozen milks/cream with no water added - the soaps look magnificent - set beautifully all different some with nothing else and some with fo's or eo's or/and honey and/or oatmeal. All put into the fridge after being poured into the moulds (middle of summer here in Aus so indoor temp was around 30Degrees Celcius or 86F). WHen I actaully cut them they looked great now a couple of days later as they change colour I have noticed white spots that are now weeping. I don't have access to a ph tester so cannot know for sure its lye but I am assuming it is undissolved Lye spots.

If this is the case given the cals are fine as is for oil & ph content would rebatching solve this and if so what would be the recommended method - crockpot, boiling water, microwave. Fortunately in all my cp soap making I have never had a batch fail/mess up so have never ahd any use for rebatching.

Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated I have posted a pic on my website http://www.adputty.com.au/soap.html

Rachelle

PS FYI If anyone has an iphone I can recommend brambleberry's soap calaculator app for it - I checked it would work in metric being in Aus before I bought it and it does - now I have it I don't use anything else.

 

[IrishLass]

I looked at your picture, and just going by looks, I have to say that those white spots actually look like stearic spots to me (as opposed to lye spots).

Stearic spots are spots or globs of unsaponified high-stearic fats that show up in your soap and are due from having soaped too cool. I used to get those in my finished bars when I soaped certain fats/butters at too cool of a temp below their natural melting points. The cooler temp caused the fats/butters to resolidify before the lye could react with them properly, causing a pseudo trace. Pseudo trace is something that looks like real trace, but is not. It's actually certain fats re-solidifying because they've been brought too far below their melting point for them to remain liquid, which makes for spotty saponification. They show up as harmless white globs or spots in your finished bars.

Have you tongue tested the spots for zap? When I used to get stearic spots from soaping too cool I would tongue-test the spots to make sure they weren't unreacted lye, and they always turned out to be stearic spots, not lye spots. No zap at all. Have you tongue tested yours?

IrishLass

 

[Stryda71]

Hi Irishlass

I have tongue tested but I can't tell - i know that sounds odd but I gave up smoking 4 months ago after 20 years and when my taste came back a lot of things seem to burn my tongue that shouldn't so my taste test is not to be trusted.. and my husband is having a hard time understanding why I want him to lick soap..lol

I will try him again thanks - what your saying is appropriate to the method I used - the fats would have certainly cooled fast - under anne watson's guidance of cool technique I placed my moulds in the fridge so this may be par for the course?

Thanks Rachelle

 

[Stryda71]

Got hubby to tongue test and it is defiantely lye so I guess I am rebatching! Any sugestions on methods would be great.

Meanwhile Hubby is not talking to me something about permanant damage to his beer palate.

Thanks again
Rachelle

 

[ctay122]

I was looking at your post because I was looking for answer to the weird spots on my soap (I haven't cut it yet). It reminds me of spots on a window when it rains. Anyway, I think it might be from the cocoa butter I added to my soap...ANYWAY...how do you make those cool swirls in your soap? Do you let it sit a bit and then whip it up with a whisk or something? Or do you bring itto aheavy trace and it just pours that way?

Thanks!